November 20, 2025
Ukrainian lawmaker tells DW reported peace plan sounds ‘like surrender’
Reports of a possible peace plan to end the conflict in Ukraine sound “like surrender,” Oleksiy Goncharenko of Ukraine’s opposition European Solidarity party told DW.
The lawmaker dismissed reports of a plan allegedly negotiated between the United States and Russia that would require Kyiv to cede land controlled by Russian forces and cut its military size by more than half, calling it disinformation by Moscow.
“The main guarantee for Ukraine, as for any other country, [is] its own armed forces,” he said. “That’s exactly what Russia wants — to reduce Ukrainian armed forces to finish Ukraine in the next attack.”
Goncharenko said he did not believe the US would “push Ukraine to surrender because it’s not in the interest of Ukraine, nor of the United States.”
“I really want to thank President [Donald] Trump for his efforts trying to achieve peace, but to achieve peace this agreement should be in Ukrainian interests too, and I think he realizes this,” he added.
Reports of the peace plan apparently negotiated between the US and Russia come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces his biggest domestic crisis in years, with close aides under investigation for a major criminal scheme and two ministers having resigned.
“Zelenskyy is definitely weaker because of the scandal at home, and this is a bad story overall,” Goncharenko said.
He added that any deal would not have to be accepted by Zelenskyy alone, but by Ukrainian society as a whole.
“If we want to have any agreement, Ukrainian society should accept it. There are things which are acceptable for Ukrainian society; there are things which are not,” he said.
